20 Moderately Interesting Facts About Batmobiles

MICRO-OBSESSION OF THE WEEK

THERE HAVE BEEN ENTIRE BOOKS written about the psychology of Bruce Wayne, a man who dresses up as a bat and exacts varying amounts of violence on Gotham’s criminal underworld. But no text has adequately unpacked the notion of the Batmobile itself—the No. 1 sign that this guy has gone, well, batty. Changing your outfit is one thing; this guy has a commitment to a personal brand that goes far beyond reasonable merchandise. I shudder while imagining the tragedy it would take for me to do the same (see figs. 1 & 2).

Anyway, we’re getting a new Batmobile in a couple months (March 4), via the Robert Pattinson-lead The Batman. (The inclusion or exclusion of the article “The” before Batman seems to be of personal grammatical preference in these films, a la the Oxford comma.) And here’s the thing about the Batmobile: No matter how bad the Bat-flick, Bat-comic, or Bat-show, they’ve rarely botched the thing. It’s probably the most consistent thing about the character in all of its forms, from the 1940s comics, when his ride was christened “the Batmobile,” to this latest one, a (relatively) pared-down, Camaro-esque take. 

In honor of this new Batmobile joining the fold, I present 20 factoids about a car only rivaled in its coolness and lack of subtlety by the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile. I have limited the tidbits to what I believe are the four best versions of the thing in film and television, in chronological order: 

BATMAN (1989)

1. This Batmobile was a chimera: chassis and engine of a Chevy Impala, fuel caps of a London bus, tail lights of a Ferrari, a Harrier Jump Jet's engine parts, and my favorite, the headlights of a Honda Civic. The sliding cockpit was also inspired by the jet, though the Batsuit's ears had to be shortened for Michael Keaton to fit inside.

2. Ventriloquist Jeff Dunham owns one of the original vehicles used. “With all the upgrades, I easily spent a half-million dollars on it,” says the man who invented the character José Jalapeño on a Stick.

3. The fins are asymmetrical, due to the handcrafted and expressionist nature of this take. As the toys were based off of digital scans of the real thing, they too have asymmetrical fins. So don’t blame Hot Wheels.  

4. Yes, it’s the same one they used in the sequel, Batman Returns, except for one notable addition: windshield wipers. 

5. Anton Furst and Julian Caldow crafted the original designs, with input from Burton. You've likely also seen Caldow’s work on Game of Thrones, the Harry Potter films, and more recently, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. 

BATMAN: THE ANIMATED SERIES (1992-1995)

1. The animated series invented the character of Earl Cooper, a mechanic who designed and constructed the Batmobile. (He was voiced by Paul Winfield.) In the prior comics, the Batmobile was said to be designed and maintained by Alfred, Bruce, and here and there, the mute hunchback Harold Allnut.

2. This Batmobile’s features include a jet exhaust, smoke and oil dispensers, flare guns, wheel-slasher hubs, missiles, pipes that spill oil for enemies at the rear, a grappling hook for turning, and a covert mode that makes the car resemble a trash container (?). 

3. The toy version was a major hit in 1992, partly because of the “pursuit jet” that was integrated into the vehicle:

4. I think I’m going to buy one on eBay right now.

5. Shayne Poindexter was the artist behind this one, and he later had a hand in the Batman Beyond series vehicles.

BATMAN FOREVER (1995)

1. Barbara Ling and Tim Flattery, who had previously changed the game with his creation of the Penguin Commandos in Batman Returns, designed this Batmobile under a broader biomechanical aesthetic inspired by Alien artist H.R. Giger.  

2. Giger was originally chosen by Joel Schumacher to design the Batmobile, but his rough ideas were deemed too extreme and technically challenging to use.

3. Though it was typically controlled by stunt drivers, Chris O'Donnell was insistent on driving it himself for a scene. He wrecked it into a curb and dented the vehicle. (Also: During that joyride sequence, R&B group En Vogue make a cameo.)

4. This one was constructed from carbon fiber, with material akin to Formula One cars and jet fighters. Schumacher’s love of rave culture is also evident in the tire and interior lighting (and all over the film and its excessive use of black lights).

5. Flattery has had a hand in numerous Marvel films (as a designer on the Infinity Gauntlet), but we can’t overlook one of his biggest contributions to ’90s nostalgia: 

BATMAN BEGINS (2005)

1. It’s a real, working vehicle. That ain’t CGI in the film, folks. 

2. Influenced partly by Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns series, this Batmobile was built from scratch, but it does have something in common with the 1989 and 1995 ones: a Chevy engine. The afterburner is a propane burner from a hot air balloon.

3. The body is made of fiberglass, not steel armor, as advertised. Would probably take more than that Chevy engine to move the thing if that were the case.

4. While filming in Chicago, there was an incident involving a drunk driver: He hit the car and said he panicked because he thought the vehicle was an alien ship.

5. No one actually refers to it as the “Batmobile” in the Nolan films.